The Sacred Heart of Jesus

By Christian tradition, June is the month that the Church dedicates to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, even if due to Easter's late occurrence this year, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart falls at the beginning of July. Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI has specified that his general prayer intention for the month of June to be "that priests, united to the Heart of Christ, may always be true witnesses of the caring and merciful love of God". Certainly, priests are called to such union with the Heart of Christ so that they might serve as leaders and models for all Christian believers to do the same, those who share in the common priesthood of the Faithful as emphasized in the teachings of the Second Vatican Council (cf. Lumen Gentium 10).

In my homily today I reflected on how dads and moms will lift up their children to see whatever is occurring beyond the sea of adult legs. We place our little children on our shoulders so that they can have a better view. It seems that Jesus does that as well. His loving heart raises us up above hatred, anger, animosity, jealousy, pride, and all of our other favorite sins. By isn't that what he teaches us to do as well? Like Jesus, through the strength and courage of hi loving heart we follow his example and raise one another up.

Some of the more 'humorous' scripture passages are where we find the apostles becoming indignant with one another. Very much like us today we want to be liked the best. And we especially want Jesus to like us the best. Sometimes to get there we knock one another over. Maybe not literally, but you know what I mean. Jesus speaks to us about the Kingdom. Our own lives, and the life of the Church, somehow offers a vision of the Kingdom of God. Our ministry is about lifting each other up, as Christ Jesus raises us up.

When I was here before as a 'puppy priest,' we had a young man who lived down the street, who was developmentally disabled. He spent a lot of time around the church. The pastor would mention occasionally, perhaps when I may have been firmer than I should have been, that he needs love like everyone else. There is a real truth and a real challenge there. We are to be Christ to all God's people, and perhaps even moreso the ones who might be harder to love.

The heart of Jesus is our source of mercy and love. We pray that the power of this heart may give us the courage and direction to meet all of the challenges of life, and raise us up out of our lowliness.

Receive from the people of God

Today is the actual date of my ordination anniversary. It was 24 years ago today that I formally said "Yes" to the Presbyterate. The day was hot and sunny. I had spent the previous day chasing a small white ball around a beautiful golf course. It was supposed to relax us. It did not. I remember both in college, and even while in seminary, thinking about religious orders. But I have been in the Diocese of Rockford as a priest for almost one quarter of a century.

I went to seminary at St. Meinrad School of Theology in southern Indiana. The seminary was established by Benedictine monks in the latter part of the 19th century. When we came the school had recently changed its formation to coincide with the official Church, and the U.S. bishops on priestly formation. Studies in church history, scripture, theology, ecclessiology, sacraments, and pastoral skills, were emphasized. Then there were the famous 'non-negotiables.' A certain lifestyle that was expected of a seminarian, that would also be expected of a priest, that one needed to adhere to.

Since the seminary was run by Benedictines, the liturgies were always very prayerful; and spiritual life was foundational. It was made clear that we were not becoming monks, but rather being trained for life in the parish.

As I have said often, the most moving part of the ordination ritual is receiving the bread and wine from the Bishop. In this very short prayer everything that a priest is about is summed up. Take these elements from the people of God, and offer them to God. The priest is also told here to believe and form one's life on the sacrifice that they are celebrating. As a priest it all comes back to the Eucharist and the celebration of the Paschal Mystery. In the parish this is where we meet all of the folks at once, and can have the greatest impact on their lives. The daily mass community becomes this faithful group of pray-ers, who are your best supporters and most important evaluators.

It has been a good 24 years. I am impressed when people remember a homily from eons ago, or time I spent with them or their family in a hospital. While next year is the biggie, I like to take time out to pray, spend time with family and friends, and reflect on the gift of priestly ministry. That God chooses people like me is a real testimony to God's faithfulness, and the power of the Holy Spirit in our Church. May the good things that God has begun be brought to fulfillment.

The Body and Blood of Christ

When the Second Vatican Council spoke about the Eucharist, they referred to it as the "Source and Summit" of the Church and it's life. The Eucharist offers us a foundation as well as an identity. The bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. In the Incarnation God is revealed in Jesus Christ, and now in the simplicity of bread and Wine God' love and plan of salvation are made known to us.

There is of course a very close relationship between the Manna in the desert and our participation in the Eucharist. God feeds the Hebrew people on their journey to the promised land. For us, God feeds us through our sharing in this perfect sacrifice. Through the celebration of the Eucharist (which means Thanksgiving, by the way) and our eating and drinking of this sacred sacrament, we are fed and nourished for our own journey. I often tell the story of one of the home visits I had made years ago. A woman, crippled by arthritis, found solace and relief each time she received the Eucharist.

To be sure this sacrament offers us courage and strength in our various tasks. It offers us the grace of the Father's love and forgiveness from those little pesky sins. When we are able to take time and reflect on the who and what we are receiving, our frequent reception helps us understand that that we have oneness with God through this sacrament.

At the Last Supper Jesus celebrated the Passover as he had so many other times in his life. What make this time different is that now the bread and wine take on a new character. Jesus exposes himself as the new and everlasting covenant. Jesus plainly states that this is his Body and Blood. More so this Body and Blood are to be the salvation of the world. In this sacrifice and meal we have unity and peace with God the Father and the world.

St. Paul will remind us today in the readings that this solemn sacrament we share in the one loaf and cup. Paul will go on to say that there must not be disharmony or disunity in our Faith community. Not only does this celebration bring about a unity in the midst of diversity, but calls to mind for us the commonality we share in the Eucharist.

What we share is a sacrifice and a meal which guide and direct us towards our salvation. The Word of God made flesh comes into our presence as real food and drink. May what we receive from the altar build us up in mind and body.

Past and Future

In recent weeks there has been lots of news about recent U.S. education studies and surveys. It is the usual stuff, sad to say, the U.S. lags in math and sciences, and does not do too well in social sciences or government. I am bothered by the latter areas as well as the former. Now that our politicians are turning to pop-t.v. to campaign, and comedy shows have become stomping blocks, we really need an educated electorate to see through the smoke and mirrors.

The was a message board the other day where a number of UC-Berkeley students concluded that since they were learning important subject matter such as chemistry and engineering, why should they worry about Second World War battles, or who the Agriculture Secretary was in the 1930s. While I understand their point, choices and decisions that occurred generations ago still effect us today. Serbs and Croatians were terrible enemies, and more importantly were exceedingly cruel to each other. Europe is still hobbled by some of the results of WW I. If we have a global community, we have to understand why folks respond to each other the way that they do. A lot of hurt sometimes takes a long time to heal.

While we might not be responsible for times past, our concern should be in the political sphere, the economic relationships we have with other nations, the ecology, cultural projects and world poverty and the basic needs of peoples. Education has a moral function. We need to know what the main thing is.

Aloyius Gonzaga

St. Aloyius Gonzaga lived during the sixteenth century, the son of a nobleman, a child of great devotion and piety. It was the intention of his parents that he become a solider, but Aloysius understood his call to be that of serving Christ in the priesthood. As a teen he entered the Jesuits, and lived in Rome. A few years after his ordination the Black Plague broke out in Rome. Aloyius worked in a Jesuit hospital caring for the sick and the dying; before contracting the disease himself. Aloysius is known to be a patron saint of youth and youth workers.

I had commented to a brother priest yesterday that I have another excellent server who is able to set the Sacramentary for Mass, and anticipates everything that happens next. Now this is a bright young man, but his family is at Mass without fail. They will sit in the same bench as their grandparents. So we have three generations going to church together. I think that this connection to church, faith, and prayer have been a real springboard for this child, and his siblings, in doing their best in everything they do.

When we consider people like Aloysius, and holy men and women who might not have a "St" before their names, we often recognize that it is through their faith life they often have a broader vision of life and humanity. To be sure they are not always charity workers or professional helpers, but they do justice and peace type things towards those around them.

The concept we talk about a lot in Stewardship is that of taking responsibility. Families that walk in the ways of faith convey that very notion to all in that household. That very good habit becomes a relational skill that they use towards the world around them. Our own Baptism and Confirmation sends us out in to the world to proclaim Good News. St. Paul this weekend recalls for us the importance of greeting each other with a holy kiss.

To be sure we might not want to go around kissing everyone, but simply to greet each other with reverence and respect is a beginning of sharing God's blessings with each other. And like in the notion of Stewardship, we engage in ministry when we are able to marry the needs of the community around us, with our gifts.

A person of faith passes on their faith, and makes one another aware of the Kingdom of God. Then we begin to see our offspring do marvelous things, because they experienced an environment of doing good things because they are important to do. And thus we build up the Body of Christ.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

Trinity Sunday is one of the solemnities of Ordinary Time which celebrates a particular aspect of God's divine life with us. For centuries we have contemplated our God, as one God and three persons. The Nicene Creed articulates the relationship of our God-head, and our God's relationship with us. In the last few weeks of Easter, in the section of John's Gospel which contains Jesus' farewell discourse, we are told of the oneness that exists between God and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is a relationship of communion and love.

In the Book of Proverbs the role of Wisdom is described as a foundational image which existed before all of creation, and through Wisdom God created the world. In the Book of Sirach Wisdom is the Torah which gives the law. The Book of Wisdom describes Wisdom as the soul which holds creation together. And early Christian literature describes Jesus as the Wisdom of God that reveals God to the world. Paul writes to the Colossians, and in 1:15-20 says Jesus is, "The firstborn of all creation ... before all things, and in him all things hold together." Again as Jesus will describes in John's Gospel, there is this intimate relationship between himself, and the Father and the Holy Spirit.

In the Paschal Mystery we share in this unity of love in the Trinity. Jesus, by his suffering, has sanctified us and drawn us into communion with the Father. By the Holy Spirit we are continually sanctified and strengthened for the mission and ministry of God's people. This means of course we are shaped and transformed by this incarnate love. One commentator I read compared the relationship with the Trinity as like dancing with God. I sort of use this in my homily today. But more importantly it is the understanding is that our very character is stamped by God.

What we believe about God affects what we believe about ourselves and what we do. God cannot be viewed as a theological concept that lives somewhere off in the cosmos. God has continued to walk with his people. Throughout our faith journey God stoops down, lifts us up, and sends us on our way. And like an excited school-child, God's intense love jumped into human history as one like us. This solemnity is about God's nature and our relationship with this loving God. We contemplate all that God has done for us, and with joyful hope look to live with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, forever.

Pass the faith please

In recent months there have been a plethora of articles about religion and the present younger generation. This post-modern group of people is spiritual, but not necessarily religious. There is not only parish shopping, but church shopping as well. In some ways this group could be characterized by a Do-it-yourself religion. And, because their sense of community is not as it once was, the old methods of catechises and evangelization do not always work.

But that is what is necessary, catechises and evangelization. Benedict XVI, in his recent Wednesday audiences, as well as his letters to western Bishops, has indicated that such pastoral practice is of necessity in our world today. The Church in the U.S. is seemingly healthy as far as numbers go. But this is in part of the immigrants from Central and South America. A trend that is being observed are later baptisms and marriages. More often than not persons that come for these sacraments have no particular affiliation with the parish.

But who taught us our faith? More often than not it was mom and dad. Outside of the home, we who went to Catholic Schools were taught by Religious Women. But we also lived in a context where religion and faith were an acceptable part of our culture. Because we have really lost at least two generations, in addition to shaky family ties, our children do not always have the faith formation that we who are older might recall.

One of the primary tasks of the parish must be evangelization. Anymore this does not mean going to some far away place, but is in our neighborhoods, workplaces, and schools. Too often faith information is received like fast food at a drive through window. And we have satisfied with that telling ourselves, 'Well at least they have something.' Beyond not understanding the basics of prayer and sacraments, there is a whole area of ethics and morals. When I hear the question, "Why does the Church teach ... ," I cannot assume that the person asking the question has even a foundational knowledge of Catholic teaching.

Here at St Mary I keep pushing for catechists for adults. We can send them away for classes, and set them lose in the parish. I keep on hand several books and website info for catholic understanding and theology. The best way to keep our faith alive is to continue t nurture and nourish what has been planted. Part of the Catholics Coming Home initiative was to invite non-practicing catholics to come to church. It is important to talk and to live our faith.